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Records were made to be broken -- just ask traders in corn, soybeans, and live cattle futures, all of which hit all-time highs this year.

Milk futures haven't joined that club -- yet. But with dwindling production and solid demand, it's likely only a matter of time before they do. And the ride won't be short. In fact, investors can expect to skim profits off milk throughout most of next year, even though prices might wobble a bit once they reach the stratosphere. "The bullish elephant in the room is that global milk-production growth has come to a standstill," says Shawn Hackett, president of Hackett Financial Advisers, even with prices already near record highs.

CME Class III milk futures, the benchmark dairy contract, which includes milk used for cheese, have been at the doorstep of the all-time high of $21.62 per hundredweight, set in August 2011.

The front-month October contract settled Friday at $21.06, up four cents for the week. It has risen 10% since Sept. 10 and 36% since May.

The rise in milk, much like the rally in other agricultural commodities, has been driven by drought, which is curbing supply. Hot cows are unhappy cows, and don't make as much milk as they normally would. And output is unlikely to rebound soon, as soaring feed costs -- due to grain prices also near all-time highs -- have put a significant squeeze on dairy farmers, making some unprofitable.

In California, the nation's top milk producer, output tumbled 5.8% in August from the level a year earlier. That helped send national output to its first monthly decline -- 0.3% -- in three years, the Department of Agriculture reported. Traders also fear that production in New Zealand -- the world's second-biggest dairy exporter -- will slide, because of hot weather there.

Analysts say short-term fluctuations in demand could limit further price gains until the reality of shrinking milk output really sets in. Robert Chesler, vice president of the food-service division for brokerage FCStone, sees prices setting a record and then "snapping back" lower, as some buyers back away.

But in a recent report, Rabobank declared that2013's first six months will bring about "the return of milk scarcity." Any rebound in production would come only after producers are actually profitable again, predicted the bank, whose customers include agribusinesses. It expects output declines through next year's first half, and warns that the market has been "lulled into a false sense of security" that production will keep up with rising demand in emerging markets.

And don't expect China's slowing economy to put much of a damper on milk prices. China is a huge milk-powder importer, and Chesler says that even if growth demand there slows to, say, 6%, that would still outpace any likely gains in milk production.

In the short term, Hackett sees a correction. But after it runs its course, he expects an even stronger rally in which milk finally "shoots the moon." He sees prices climbing to $25-$30 a hundredweight next year.